Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

The "Wise County Cowboy". Yep, believe it or not we have had a legitimate movie star from the WC.

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams made over 200 Hollywood films . 200? Really?? He starred along side Jimmy Cagney, John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Janet Gaynor, Edgar Kennedy, Alan Hale and many more. He was born in Decatur on April 26, 1899.

He was known as the "Babe Ruth of Polo".

SEE!!! I told you we were ripe for polo around here!!!

He was discovered by none other than Will Rogers and started out as a stuntman then worked his way up thru the ranks.

Read his complete bio at IMDB.

Ode To Mickey Hand

Let me tell you how it will be

There's one for you, nineteen for me

'Cause I'm the taxman

Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small

Be thankful I don't take it all

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

(If you drive a car car) I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk walk) I'll tax your feet, Taxman!

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advise for those who die
(Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes
(Taxman!)

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one, but me
(Taxman!)

Movie Of The Week: In The Valley Of Elah

Wow! What an amazing and stunning film by Paul Haggis! I'm not sure I'm qualified to comment on this movie that is based on actual events. It is a powerful piece of cinema. (SPOILER ALERT!)

Tommy Lee Jones turns in a predictably impecible performance as an ex-MP investigating the murder of his son just back from Iraq.

Charlize Theron plays a single mom recently promoted from traffic to detective that has yet to earn the respect of her fellow officers. A matter of feet determine who investigates the crime and the locals willingly turn it over to the military. She teams up with Jones and uncovers the disturbing truth behind his son's death after her department blows it off.

This may be the best performance Theron has ever done on film.

A must see.

Irony

I can't make this stuff up.

It Was A Dark and Icestormy Night

Icestormy? Is that even a word? Well, it is now! There's a ton of stuff I need to do tomorrow today but it looks like the weather is going to put the kibosh on that.

I promised BrotherInLaw that I'd put an outside hydrant by the wellhouse so he can fill a watertank for his cattle over here in one of my pastures. The stock tank (that's a pond for you non-locals) is extremely low and muddy. It don't look like that's happening today.

If I was a good blogger (snicker!) I'd dig around and find some data on this drought we are going thru. Personally, I can't remember one this bad since the 70's. That was a doozy. It was so dry we resorted to high explosives.

Dad was friends with an explosives expert at one of the local rock crushers. With a bit of bribery involving a couple half gallons of Jim Beam we were going to attempt to blow open some springs on our property. Early that Sunday morning the explosives guy (we'll call him JB) arrived and we set off into the pasture to do the deed.

There were 3 springs. We got to the first and I was told to start digging it out. I dug down 3-4 feet and then JB put in 2 small charges and lit the fuse. We walked back about 200 ft and waited.

BOOM!

Mud and rocks went flying thru the air. We ran back to find a huge hole slowly filling with water. Success!!! Now on to the next one where we repeated the procedure with the same results. I have failed to tell you that while I was digging, JB and Dad were drinking whiskey. By the time we reached the 3rd one, both JB and Dad were pretty well lit.

This was the big spring. It was still flowing a little bit of water even though it was full of dirt and rock. I dug a hole about twice as deep as the others, JB put in 2 small charges and we trotted back to our safety point.

BOOM!

This time when we returned we found the hole filling fast with clear cold water. We hit the jackpot! Well if 2 small charges did this, just think what 2 large charges would do! JB rigged up 2 large charges tossed them in the pool of water and back we go to the safety point.

KA-BOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!

This time our safety point wasn't very safe. INCOMING! Boulders the size of beach balls were flying thru the air. Small pebbles and bits of mud peppered us like a giant shotgun. A rock the size of your fist barely missed me as I stood there like a deer in the headlights. Holy shee-it!

We ran back to the spring to see the results of our handy work. It wasn't what we expected. Water had been rising over a foot a minute after the first blast. The second blast fixed that. Instead of opening the spring more, it blew the bottom out of it. The water was swirling downward just like a toilet. When the hole emptied out you could hear a large amount of water running underground. I wanted to crawl down into the hole and see if I could locate the source thru the giant crack in the rocks, but Dad wouldn't let me.

We didn't get all the water we were after, but I did learn some valuable lessons:

1. Sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing.
2. Quit while you're ahead.
3. Nitroglycerin and alcohol don't mix.

Cynical Bunch, Ain't We?

Well the polls have closed and the ballots tabulated.

Obama will achive many campaign goals. - 1
Obama will achieve few campaign goals. - 8
Obama will ask McCain if he still wants the job. - 1

At least somebody has a sense of humor!

Skystream 3.7

There was an ad last week and a feature story this week (coincidence or unbiased, groundbreaking journalism? You decide...) in The Mess about a local company selling wind and solar power systems. I'm a firm believer in the concept and product, but from personal experience I wouldn't spend a nickle with the dealer.

I've been planning on buying a Skystream 3.7 for a couple of years now. It's a proven product and I am buying one. I just won't be spending any of those hard earned dollars with a particular asshole when I do.

First impressions are powerful things. BTW, down here in Texas we usually greet new neighbors with "Howdy!" not "Who the fuck are you?"

You never know when that will come back to bite you in the ass, do you?

Thunder Road

Just 26 days to go...

Stranger Things Have Happened

We have a black President. The Arizona Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. To be completely honest, I never thought they would ever sell beer in Decatur either. The world didn't come to an end when that happened, so maybe there is hope on the horizon afterall.

Personally, I'd like to see a more UNITED States of America. I'm really worn down by the hate and discontent coming from the extremists on all sides. You can't please all of the people all of the time. But cain't we just all get along for a while? It's 2009 fer Christ's sake!

I am proposing a political Cease Fire for the next 100 days. Everyone all pull together as a team and get this country back on track. Give him the ball on the 20 and 4 downs. Let's see what he can get done.

We can do this for America.

Life

The Dream:

The Reality:

Life is cruel.

Dreamboat Annie

I caught this concert on DirecTv's 101 several months ago. Now it's playing on Palladia, DTV Ch 332. This is a great retrospective for Heart fans! It is a complete performance of the original album in concert, filled with commentary from the band.

A must see for the serious audiophile.

New To The Worthy List

I stumbled across an excellent blog. While surfing thru links from the comments on the last post I found As The Coconuts Drop by Barnacle. This guy is a hoot! He also has some fantastic photography.

And apparently his wife has a very fine ass.

(Note: There is an adult content warning, but I found nothing objectionable or NSFW)

I'm Getting Itchy Feet

No, I don't need some Absorbine, Jr. I've been in 1 spot for too long. I love to travel. I NEED to travel. It's the main reason I drove a truck for so many years. It's a big world and I can't see enough of it. OK, I've seen all the Arctic Circle I care to! (See your local U.S. Coast Guard recruiter today!)

For the past several years I've been aching to go to Belize. Placencia to be exact, roughly 700 miles south of Cancun, but I've put it off because I don't want to take the trip alone. It's the less inhabited portion of Southern Belize and is one of the last "unspoiled" areas of the world. It's a tropical paradise and was named one of the Top 10 places to retire a few years ago by Maxim. It has the 2nd largest Barrier Reef in the world, they speak english, love Americans, the cost of living is cheeeeeeap and they have a set-up where you can live there TAX FREE if you are over 40. Unfortunately, it has become a hotspot for those very same reasons.

If I don't make the trip this year, odds are I'll miss the unspoiled beauty of mile after mile of white sandy beach and lush, untouched tropical splendor. If I wait any longer it will be wall to wall all-inclusive tourist resorts with their air conditioning, all you can eat buffets and swim up bars filled with scantily clad women from around the world looking for a holiday fling.

Hmmm... let me rethink this a bit...

It's The Simple Things...

I got my new(er) Dodge truck a few months ago. As with all used cars there are issues. So far I only have two. There is a rattle in the driver's side window that bugs the shit out of me and the windshield washer doesn't work.

Today I went proactive on the 2nd. I tore apart the windshield cowling and cleaned all the lines and valves on the washer assembly. Surprisingly, it was easier than I expected for the teardown, only a few plastic retainers and 2 screws. But after tearing it all apart, it still doesn't work. I'm pretty sure the $.98 plastic spray nozzles are plugged with slime. (Always use washer fluid, not tap water!) I tried to unplug the nozzle with a small wire. I tried compressed air. I even took an old toothbrush and fished around, but no go. So I spent the better part of 2 hours accomplishing nothing other than confirming the lines and valves are clean and the nozzles are plugged.

Now all I have to do is run down 2 new spray nozzles. I searched all my usual online parts resources and came up with squat. With my luck it's an OEM only part, they are $20 each and on permanent backorder. (Seriously, use washer fluid!)

All I want to do is wash the rock truck mud off my windshield...

UPDATE: I didn't miss it by much. The part is a Dealer Only OEM part and it IS on backorder. The good news? They are only $15 each, not $20.

PJTP

Don't start going nuts trying to figure it out. Posting Just To Post.

Been pretty dull around The South 40 lately. Not much news to pass along, so I haven't.

I could do a random thoughts post, but that's been done to death.

My sleep patterns are all screwed up, too. Bouts of insomnia followed by hibernation does not a creative writer make.

So you get PJTP.

Polo

I just watched my first polo match ever on ESPN2. It was great and looked hella fun to play! I wonder why it hasn't caught on around here? We have all the key ingredients (good riders and good horses). It looks like a natural fit for Texas.

I suppose there is that "snobby rich folks" stigma to the game, but that's got nothing to do with it being fun to play and watch. It's basically a 4 on 4 soccer game played on horseback with no goalies.

Sound interesting? Here's more info on the game.

Et tu, Brute?

I can't believe it. I extol the greatness of "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" time and again here at The South 40. Not just because is it the best travel/food show on TV. But because Tony is by far the coolest, most down to earth host on the air, period. You come for the chow and scenery, you stay for the commentary.

And now this from Liberally Lean...

I mentioned "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain a couple of weeks ago and since then someone at the show has sent me two personalized emails thanking me (even mentioned Liberally Lean by name) and asking me to promote the new season.

(Cue the Hitchcock music) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

He didn't even get the name right and he gets personal correspondence? Guess that's karma for taking a potshot at LLLDQ with the sextoy review. Looks like I brought a knife to a gunfight.

If Barry hooks up with a Cute Little Racegirl, I might just go postal.

Oh, don't forget to catch the new season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations monday nights on The Travel Channel.

Monday, Monday...

I rented a couple DVD's last night that I have been dying to watch, The Dark Knight and Ironman. TDK was good, but it got a little too cartoonish for me toward the end. Heath Ledger stole the show. His intrepritation of The Joker was riviting. Ironman, on the other hand, was just fantastic from start to finish. I won't do a review, but it was definitely a $1.49 well spent!

Now, I just have to slip and slide to Bridgeport and back to return them. I suddenly remember why I don't rent DVD's.

Our Lady of Blessed Traction, don't fail me now!

Take THAT Liberally Lean!

OK, Barry has pics of plenty of hot chicks. BUT, (and I'm pretty sure about this) he's never linked you to a personal sex toy review by a hot chick!

Ladies, you may want to take notes. Guys, if they ever make one of those that can change a flat tire we've got a problem.